While this may seem like a light-hearted parody of how parents live vicariously through their kids, based on my earlier experience as a cub scout leader (who happened to run the District Pinewood Derby since my pack had all the equipment shown in the movie) this movie is a lot closer to the truth than a lot of participating parents want to admit.

I had parents show up without kids. I had parents who wouldn't let their kid touch the car and complained about the rule that the kids had to actually present the car to race. I found all sorts of questionable modifications to wheels and axles. Perhaps the movie stretches it a bit, but not that much. The internet is full of sites devoted to winning the PWD - someone is buying the stuff. To control runaway parental participation, we finally implemented a rule where all work had to be done at special sessions and the kits impounded. We also started a special "adults only" race and ran off the winners of the kids with the adults - know what - the kids always won.

If you're looking for a movie that's fun to watch with no violence/sex/language - this one is for you. The movie has a "bad guy" that we've all known and just want to see him go down.

This movie is certainly worth putting in your Nexflix queue.

When Phil (Greg Germann) was a kid, he ruled his California town as the champion athlete. That is, until the day Ace Montana (Marc Raymond) came to town and left poor Phil a permanent second for the next few years. Now, they are both adults and still living in the same community. Phil is married to the lovely Kim (Lauren Holly) and Ace has an equally stunning wife (Hunter Tylo). But, Phil remains envious of Ace and his abilities. Therefore, when its time for the scouts annual Pinewood Derby, Phil is determined that his son, Brady, will be the winner over Ace's offspring. His two closest friends decide to enter their sons in the competition, too. Soon, everyone is toting long wooden boards into their dwellings and trying to perfect the little vehicles and their ramps. Phil takes over his own bedroom, much to Kim's disgust, who has to sleep under the ramp. When her hair dryer blows up, due to over extended outlets, Kim sees red. She tells Phil she is taking Brady to her mother's house for awhile. And, she cautions her advertising executive husband not to neglect, and/or, lose his actual JOB over his derby obsession, for a wealthy client (Pat Morita) is counting on excellence. Will Phil let Ace-mania destroy his exemplary life? This is a fine, funny family flick that will please everyone, especially fathers and sons. When it comes to little racing cars, few males can resist the competitive tug at their hearts to beat the opposition. As the main cast members, Germann and Holly are wonderfully humorous and the supporting cast is very fine as well. Then, too, the California setting is lovely, the costumes are terrific and the camera work, comical script, and energetic direction are all big assets. Most importantly, the movie has no objectionable material or language, making it an ideal choice for everyone in the household. Therefore, look for this upbeat flick on your next trip to the DVD outlets and plunk down a few bucks. It will be money very well extended.

Down and Derby is a movie that moms with boys will find most interesting. Although the film is geared towards boys and their dads, moms with boys in the cub/boy scouts may get the biggest kick out of this movie. The substance of this movie is about winning at all costs by the dad of the cub/boy scouts who have entered the Pinewood Derby. The boys are supposed to be SUPERVISED by the dads, not the dads supervised by their sons. The movie goes through some comedic phases until the moms save the day by taking their sons away from the dads. Three of the dads finally come to a compromise. In the end, most of the dads realize that it is more important that the boy enter his own car into the race. Of course, it wins, even beating the number one winning car of all time. This of course is unrealistic, but it's Hollywood. It is the moms who try to tell the dads -- win or lose, it is the BOY's race and the Boy's fun. Moms enjoy. Get a group of you to watch the movie. Popcorn and snacks all around.